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Outstanding FCCBs at USD 225 million: Firstsource SolutionsCarl Saldanha, Global Chief Financial Officer, Firstsource Solutions said that the companys outstanding FCCBs stand at USD 225 million as of date, with certain amount of cash reserved for buyback. As and when the prices are good, he said, the company would continue to buyback to the extent that they have some cash.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 Apr 2009 | 3:45 pm Expect to post better sales in April vs last year: MMPawan Goenka, President Automotive Sector, Mahindra Mahindra, availability of finances and soft commodity prices remain key positives for the company. I expect current upmove in sales to continue over the nearterm. I am hope the company will post better sales than last year in April.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 Apr 2009 | 3:10 pm Cos that may need restructuring due to FCCB woes: AnalysisIn the light of the Wockhardt debt restructuring experts fear that Indian companies with high FCCBs are likely to face the similar fate. A CNBCTV18 enlists Aurobindo Pharma, Bajaj Hindusthan and HCC as compamnies with hich FCCB debts.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 Apr 2009 | 2:47 pm See 1520% decline YoY on container volumes: Mundra PortRajeeva Ranjan Sinha, Director, Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone sees a decline of about 1520% YoY on container volumes that is handled, everywhere including Mundra International Container Terminal (MICT).Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 Apr 2009 | 2:02 pm Maruti 800, Omni to be phased out of 11 metros by 2010Maruti Suzuki India as said its 800 and Omni models will not be available for sale in 11 metro cities of India including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. The company has decided that the models will not be made Euro IV compliant.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 Apr 2009 | 1:58 pm Two wheelers March sales move aheadTwo wheeler companies have announced their March sales numbers. Two wheeler major Hero Honda March sales were up 7.29% at 3.53 lakh units versus 3.29 lakh units, MoM.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 Apr 2009 | 1:26 pm LT wins Rs 1245 cr Hydropower Project order from BhutanLarsen Toubro (LT), Indias leading Engineering, Technology and Construction Company, has bagged a contract of Rs 1245 crores for the construction of the Dam Package, a part of the 1200 MW PunatsangchhuI Hydroelectric Project in Bhutan.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:40 pm Sensex ends above 9900 led by realty, IT majors - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:39 pm Weak data shows global slowdown digs deep in India - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:37 pm Ross calls Satyam "interesting" – CNBCReuters - Wilbur Ross, asked about bid for Satyam Computers, calls company "interesting," but declines further comment due to India's confidentiality rules - CNBC.Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:31 pm TV reports fire at Reliance Petroleum's Jamanagar refineryMUMBAI (Reuters) - Television channels reported a fire had broken out at Reliance Petroleum Ltd's 580,000 barrel-per-day refinery at Jamanagar.Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:29 pm CRISIL, CNBCTV18 announce Mutual Fund Award WinnersCRISIL FundServices, in partnership with CNBCTV18, yesterday presented the CNBCTV18 CRISIL Mutual Fund Awards for outstanding mutual fund performance for the year 2008.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:28 pm Reliance deal to help Trombay plant restart production: RCFUS Jha of RCF said that the reduction in subsidy would be significant for the government. One of RCFs plant, TrombayV urea plant, which was closed, he said, would start production as soon as Reliance gas starts flowing in. He further said that he expected delivery of gas sometime in April.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:27 pm Feb exports fall 21% YoY to 11.9% - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:20 pm G20 leaders in London to review eco crisis!Desperate to find a solution to economic crisis, world leaders converged for G20 summit in London.Source: Zee News : Business | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:18 pm Obama to meet China, Russia leaders !Stepping onto world stage for first time in his Presidency, Obama is holding face-to-face talks with leaders of Russia and China.Source: Zee News : Business | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:18 pm Free cash withdrawals from all ATMs beginning today!Beginning today, you need not have to sweat it out looking for an ATM of your own bank as you can use ATMs of your choice without shelling out any extra money.Source: Zee News : Business | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:18 pm GM, Chrysler race deadlines to hold off bankruptcy!He doesn`t know exactly what Obama admin wants him to cut, but Fritz Henderson, the new CEO of General Motors Corp., isn`t waiting around to find out.Source: Zee News : Business | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:18 pm Japan`s biz confidence hits record low!Japan`s most closely watched step of biz confidence has fallen to an all-time low, the Central Bank said on Wednesday.Source: Zee News : Business | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:18 pm Volkswagen India…Chakan plant visit - India Infoline.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:16 pm Obama plays down G20 splits, seeks consensusLONDON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama denied rifts between the world's leading economies on the eve of a crisis summit and urged them on Wednesday to act together to find the fastest route out of global recession.Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:13 pm Varun moves Supreme Court, challenges NSA invocationNew Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party leader Varun Gandhi on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court challenging invoking of National Security Act (NSA) against him by Uttar Pradesh government for allegedly inciting communal tension. Click here to watch video Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi and Sandeep Kapoor appeared on behalf of Varun before a bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and sought permission to file the petition. The bench allowed their plea that the petition be included in the mentioning list for Thursday. The Uttar Pradesh government had booked Varun under the NSA on Sunday for the hate speeches. — PTI BJP missing Vajpayee: Sushma Bhopal: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) acutely feels the absence of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from the present political scene, senior party leader Sushma Swaraj said on Wednesday. Swaraj described this time’s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani and Vajpayee as an inseperable pair till the last general elections and said the former would feel the veteran leader’s absence the most. Swaraj, attending a ‘meet the press’ programme was asked about the Supreme Court’s decision to deny film star Sanjay Dutt to contest the Lok Sabha polls from the Lucknow seat and relied that it did not matter at all to the BJP. The BJP feels Lucknow was Vajpayee’s seat and it did not matter at all whether Dutt contested the polls from there or not, she added. — PTI Uttar Pradesh denies underworld threat to Varun Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday refuted media reports that underworld don Chota Shakeel was plotting to kill Varun Gandhi, booked under the stringent National Security Act, saying the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was transferred to high-security Etah jail only to ensure peaceful elections. “News reports appearing in a section of media today is far from truth,” said Director General of Police Vikram Singh while reacting to reports in this regard. Singh said the state government had sought the Election Commission’s permission to transfer Gandhi, the BJP candidate from Pilibhit, to Etah jail to ensure peaceful conduct of elections and to maintain public order in the constituency. “On the basis of permission given by the EC, Varun was transferred to Etah jail last night,” said Singh, who was flanked by principal secretary home Fateh Bahadur Singh. According to official sources, intelligence agencies had informed the state government a week ago about an intercepted telephonic conversation between Pakistan-based Shakeel and his key shooter Rashid indicating a plot to kill 29-year-old Gandhi, the day he came to surrender at a Pilibhit court. Rashid was arrested in Karnataka last week after intelligence agencies intercepted the telephonic conversation between Shakeel and his aides between 15-21 March, the sources said. — PTI Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:11 pm Ranbaxy, Daiichi to meet USFDA over Poanta Sahib - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:09 pm March saw 35% growth in Scooty Streak sales: TVSR Dilip, VicePresident Sales, TVS Motors said that the month of March had been quite encouraging for the company. There was an upsurge in the sale of mopeds as well as motorcycles. Scooty Streak, which registered a 35% growth on monthonmonth (mom) basis, aided growth.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 Apr 2009 | 11:50 am Govt abolishes banking transaction tax from todayThe government had introduced 0.1% BCCT in 2005 on cash withdrawals of more than Rs 50,000 (individuals) and Rs 1,00,000 for others in a single day from non-savings bank account maintained with any scheduled bank.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 1 Apr 2009 | 11:46 am M&M sees strong April, testing May-June - TVMUMBAI (Reuters) - Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd expects strong sales in April on demand for its utility vehicles ahead of general elections, but the following two months will be testing times, a senior official told a TV news channel. Mahindra, the country's largest utility vehicle and tractor maker, reported a 6 percent rise in total vehicle sales in March, compared with a year earlier, with domestic sales climbing 11 percent to 25,748 units.Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 Apr 2009 | 11:43 am Low-cost carriers growing despite recessionLow-cost airlines in India seem to be benefiting out downturn in aviation industry and some of them even hoping they would break even in the near future.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 1 Apr 2009 | 11:37 am POLL - Inflation seen at 0.18 pct on March 21MUMBAI (Reuters) - Inflation rate is forecast to have dropped closer to zero in the third week of March, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 Apr 2009 | 11:34 am Honda cuts U.S. output amid GM, Chrysler woesTOKYO/DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors faced a rising bankruptcy risk and Chrysler raced to secure its survival as Honda moved on Wednesday to cut output in North America and car sales in Asian markets tumbled.Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 Apr 2009 | 11:31 am Kerala firm to co-produce animated TV seriesToonz Animation, an animation software company located at the Technopark IT park here, and Spectra Animation of Canada, have entered into an agreement to co-produce 52 episodes of an animated TV series for pre-school children.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 1 Apr 2009 | 11:30 am BGR Energy in 20 yr licence agreement with US firm - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 1 Apr 2009 | 11:26 am Govt to get $28 bn in revenues from Reliance gas fieldNew Delhi: Reliance Industries is just hours away from transforming India’s energy landscape when it starts natural gas production from its Krishna Godavari basin fields. Gas from the prolific KG-D6 block will not just help boost power supply from idle electricity generators starved of fuel and produce cheaper urea for agriculture, it will give the government $28 billion (Rs1,40,000 crore) in profit share and royalty over the life of the field. “Reliance is doing last minute checks and gas (from KG-D6 block) can start flowing as early as tomorrow,” a source close to the development said. The $8.835 billion (Rs44,175 crore) project will double domestic natural gas production when the field hits peak output of 80 million cubic meters per day in 2010. It will wipe out fuel deficit at urea making fertiliser plants and meet half of the 36 mmcmd gas shortfall in power plants. Reliance will produce enough gas to meet about a third of UK demand, the source said. The gas output which will start at 10 mmcmd and rise by same volume every month to reach 40 mmcmd by July end. “Our endeavour is to quickly ramp it up to peak 80 mmcmd. We are targeting the peak out by year end (2009 calendar year),” company’s head of oil and gas business P M S Prasad had stated last week. If achieved by 2009-end, the peak output will come a year earlier than previously planned. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 11:24 am Economy needs fiscal and monetary interventions: CII - India Infoline.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 1 Apr 2009 | 11:06 am Markets book smart gains, Sensex up 193 pointsIndian equities markets closed higher Wednesday after being in the red for a major part of the day as investors bought lower valued realty, IT and oil and gas stocks.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 1 Apr 2009 | 11:01 am Tough times ahead for Indian exporters, forecasts Moody'sWith giant economies like the US and Europe continuing to reel under recession, Indian exporters face tough times ahead, the economic analysis arm of global rating agency Moody's said Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 1 Apr 2009 | 11:00 am TVS Motor logs 4 percent sales growth in MarchThe city-based TVS Motor Co logged 4 percent growth in two-wheeler sales last month, the company said in a statement Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 1 Apr 2009 | 11:00 am Sensex rises 193 points, ends in the greenIndian equities markets closed higher Wednesday after being in the red for a major part of the day as investors bought lower valued realty, IT and oil and gas stocks.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 1 Apr 2009 | 11:00 am Oil dips towards $48, US inventories set to risePerth: Oil fell more than 2% to below $49 on Wednesday, pressured by bearish economic news and the prospect of a further rise in US crude inventories, which are already at their highest since 1993. US crude futures were down $1.44 to $48.22 a barrel by 4:20pm eroding Tuesday’s 2.6% gain. London Brent crude was down $1.24 to $47.99. The US government’s Energy Information Administration data to be released later on Wednesday is expected to show a 2.5 million barrel increase in crude oil inventories. That data follows figures from industry group American Petroleum Institute, which on Tuesday showed crude inventories rose by a greater-than-expected 3.3 million barrels to 357.8 million barrels in the week to 27 March. “There is still a steep recession, weak demand and high stocks,” said Mike Wittner of Societe Generale. But oil prices have recovered strongly from a low of $32.40 hit in December and rose more than 11% in the first quarter of this year. Gains over the first three months were driven by recovering stock markets, signs of a greater investor appetite for risk and output cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec). Opec compliance The producer group has reached agreements to take away 4.2 million barrels per day from September and has delivered almost 80% of the promised reduction. Reuters latest survey put compliance at 79% for March, the seventh consecutive month in which the group’s output has declined. In deciding not to lower its output targets further when it met in March, Opec said it was giving the world a chance to recover from global economic downturn and looked ahead to this week’s G-20 meeting in London to stimulate the economy and help shore up fuel demand. Few expect instant results, but many analysts say Opec, which meets again at the end of May to reassess the situation, has taken out enough oil to bolster prices. In the immediate term, however, the demand outlook is weak and a fresh flurry of bearish economic news emerged on Wednesday, which weighed on stock markets and added to the pressure on oil prices. Business confidence in Japan, the world’s second largest economy and the third largest oil consumer after the United States and China, tumbled at its fastest pace ever in the first quarter to the worst on record, the Bank of Japan’s tankan corporate survey showed. Managing director of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn predicted the world economy would contract by 0.5% and 1% this year, in an interview published on Wednesday, following on from IMF reports predicting a decrease of up to one percent this year. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 10:59 am BSE Sensex starts new fiscal year with 2 pct riseMUMBAI (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex erased early losses and climbed 2 percent on Wednesday, to start the new financial year on a positive note, but political and economic uncertainties could weigh on investor confidence in the coming weeks.Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 Apr 2009 | 10:54 am Nano arrives in three Kolkata showrooms - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 1 Apr 2009 | 10:52 am Close: Markets gain 2% on 1st day of FY09New Delhi: The BSE Sensex erased early losses and climbed 2% on Wednesday, to start the new financial year on a positive note, but political and economic uncertainties could weigh on investor confidence in the coming weeks. Leading energy company Reliance Industries, top mortgage firm Housing Development Finance Corp and outsourcer Infosys Technologies led the the rise, while No.1 telecoms firm Bharti Airtel and Bharat Heavy Electricals were laggards. Trading is expected to be choppy ahead of month-long general elections that begin in mid-April amid worries about the slowing economy. Indian manufacturing activity contracted for a fifth straight month in March and exports fell in February as the global economic downturn depressed demand and the outlook remains clouded by uncertainties. The 30-share BSE index closed up 1.99%, or 193.49 points, at 9,901.99, after falling as much as 1.7% at one stage. The 50-share NSE index rose 1.3% to 3,060.65. The benchmark had risen 9.2% in March, its best performance since last April, helping it post a quarterly gain for the first time since the last quarter of 2007. It fell 26% in 2008/09 fiscal year. Twenty of its components advanced, while in the broader section gainers outstripped losers in the ratio of more than 3:1 on moderate volume of 344.5 million shares. “Investors are unwilling to go short, but are not taking too many long positions either,” R. Sriram, a technical analyst at ICICI Securities, said. He said the coming elections would keep investors wary. India will only see piecemeal pro-market reforms after the general election, a Reuters poll of 14 leading analysts has predicted. An alliance led by the ruling Congress party has lost ground over the last week amid coalition squabbles and may need leftist support to win office, the analysts added. “We see some profit booking in some stocks, but it’s not like before where investors were completely exiting their holdings,” Sriram said. However, economic worries remain. India’s current account deficit leapt to its highest in 18 years in the December quarter as the global crisis choked inflows, while the fiscal deficit for the first 11 months of 2008/09 reached 94% of an upwardly revised full-year forecast after the government went on a spending spree to stimulate a slowing economy. The government plans to sell Rs2.41 trillion ($47.5 billion) of bonds, two-thirds of its annual target, in the first half of 2009/10, raising fears in an already nervous market that funding needs may be bigger than expected. Reliance Industries, which has the biggest weight in the main index, rose 3.7% to Rs1,579.45, while HDFC gained 6.7% to Rs1,505.80. No. 2 software-services exporter Infosys Technologies firmed 3.9% to Rs1,375.50. Automaker Mahindra and Mahindra climbed almost 3% to Rs394.60, after the company said its March sales rose 6%. Bharti dropped 1.7% to Rs615.05, while state-run power equipment firm Bhel slid 2.2% to Rs1,472.05. Japan’s Nikkei surged 3% but other Asian stocks started the quarter more cautiously as reports of an orderly bankruptcy for General Motors supported sentiment. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 10:48 am Maruti to phase out M800, Omni by 2015-16New Delhi: Maruti 800 - the small car that revolutionised personal transport in modern India - will take a bow starting next year and be phased out by 2016, when the country is expected to embrace new emission norms, Maruti Suzuki India said today. Along with the M800, MSI will also be phasing out its second oldest model, the utility van Omni. In the initial phase, the two models will be done away with in 11 cities from next year, where the Bharat Stage-IV emission norms (which is equivalent to Euro-IV norms) will become applicable. “Once Euro-IV emission norms is applied across the country, which is likely to happen around 2015-16, then M800 and Omni may not be a saleable product. We will have to eventually phase (them) out then,” MSI chairman R C Bhargava said. The company would not upgrade the engines of these two models to meet better emission standards, he said while also ruling out their replacements. “We regularly introduce new models in the market, but at present there is no plan to bring out substitutes for these two cars,” he added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 10:45 am Sensex recovers early losses, ends higher by over 193 pointsThe Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer resumed weak and immediately touched a low of 9,546.29 but gradually recovered sharply to settle the day at 9,901.99, a smart rise of 193.49 points or 1.99% over its last close.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 1 Apr 2009 | 10:44 am Medvedev, Obama may sign Afghan transit dealMoscow: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev may sign a deal with Barack Obama on the transit of US supplies to Afghanistan via Russia when they meet in London, a Kremlin source told the Kommersant daily Wednesday. “We have no allergies on the issue of the transit of American cargoes. We are ready to sign a separate agreement on this matter,” the source, identified as a Kremlin official involved in planning for the meeting, told the newspaper. Such a deal would build on an existing agreement on transit, after Russia allowed the first shipment of US supplies bound for Afghanistan to cross its territory by railroad last month. Kommersant said Russia could offer the United States aerial transit as well as the services of its RZD state railroad firm to deliver supplies to Afghanistan, where Western forces are struggling to put down a Taliban insurgency. Obama and Medvedev are already expected to sign two joint declarations, one on strategic arms and another more general one about US-Russian relations, when they meet today in the run-up to the G-20 summit in London. Obama has pledged to “restart” US-Russian relations after they became badly strained during the administration of former US president George W Bush. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 10:42 am M&M undertakes repositioning exercise for Scorpio - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 1 Apr 2009 | 10:35 am Pak ‘epicentre of terrorism’, says PMLondon: Calling Pakistan the “epicentre of terrorism”, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the world community “has to come to grips with this harsh reality” and slammed Islamabad for failing to take “effective action” to curb the menace. Ahead of his maiden meeting with US President Barack Obama tomorrow, Singh said the world has a responsibility that Pakistan lives up to the promise that it will not allow its territory to be used to promote acts of terrorism directed against India. He said not taking any action against the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks is a “living proof” that Pakistan is not taking effective action to control terrorrism. “That is living proof that despite many promises made by Pakistan since 2004 to my predecessor and to me that Pakistan will not be allowed to be used to undertake acts of terror against India, in practice no effective action has been taken to control terror,” Singh told ‘Financial Times’ in an interview, ahead of his visit here to attend the G-20 summit. “We all know the epicentre of terrorism in the world today is Pakistan. The world community has to come to grips with this harsh reality,” said the Prime Minister, who arrived here yesterday. He said the 26/11 attacks were planned and acted upon in Pakistani territory is now admitted by everybody, including the intelligence agencies of developed countries. Asked why Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group blamed for the Mumbai attacks, has been able to bounce back so quickly, Singh said: “It is because the promises that the government of Pakistan have made to control terrorism and all its instrumentalities, they are either not able to control them or they are not willing to control them.” The Prime Minister said India and US would like both Afghanistan and Pakistan to be free from the hold of terrorist elements. Asked how did he assess the chances of success for Obama’s just-released AfPak strategy, he said: “I have not studied the Obama plan. We are victims of terrorism and we hope that whatever the world community plans to do they will pay adequate attention that terrorism ceases to be a problem in Afghanistan as well as Pakistan.” Singh said it has been India’s experience in the past that there are elements in the armed forces of Pakistan, some segments of the ISI involved in perpetrating acts of terror, particularly the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul. “We have been told that the ISI in Pakistan has a different mindset. I hope that is right,” he said. Asked why Pakistan has not been able to tackle terrorism, Singh said: “I’m not an expert on how Pakistan is being run. But the proof of pudding is in the eating. That the attacks on Mumbai were planned and acted upon in Pakistani territory is now admitted by everybody. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 10:33 am Remittances from NRIs may decline by 20%New Delhi: With the global financial crisis deepening and migrant workers losing jobs, remittances from Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) could decline by 20% this fiscal, said a Planning Commission report, which was submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Total foreign inflows — investment and private transfers, can be around $65 billion compared to $81 billion in 2007-08, implying a fall of 20%, the report said. However, it projected that foreign inflows could surge to $90 billion on account of one time increase in private transfers in the likelihood of Indian workers abroad deciding to bring home their accumulated savings on losing jobs. “...as they (Indian workers abroad) return to India, they may bring back their accumulated savings and a one time increase may take place. During 2009-10, private transfers can be between $35 billion and $50 billion,” the plan panel report said. Private transfers from abroad increased to $25.76 billion during April-September 2008 as compared to $17.46 billion in April-September 2007, the report said pointing out that this could be an outcome of devaluation of the dollar-rupee exchange rate. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 10:33 am NHPC to form JV with Orissa for power projectsNew Delhi: Hydro-electric power producer NHPC today said it would form a joint venture with the Orissa Government for setting up power projects in the state. “We are shortly going to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Orissa government for setting up power projects in the state...51% share would be ours,” NHPC chairman and managing director S K Garg said in an interview. The company would enter into an agreement with the state government for developing power plants and conducting repair and maintenance works for the projects in Orissa. The financial aspects and power sharing modalities will be discussed at a later stage, he said. “We have already submitted the draft and they (Orissa government) are reviewing it...the decision is expected any time soon,” Garg added without divulging further details. The company had earlier said, it would commission one of the Teesta hydro-electric projects of 132 MW in West Bengal and 120 MW Sewa-II project in Jammu and Kashmir by December this year, thereby raising its generation capacity by over 250 MW. Its present installed capacity is 5,175 MW. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 10:32 am Samsung partners MTNL, BSNL 3G phonesKorean electronic major Samsung on Wednesday said it has partnered state-run telecos BSNL and MTNL to provide high-end handsets for their 3G services.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 1 Apr 2009 | 10:30 am Agriculture credit may reach Rs2.50 lakh crore in 2008-09Mumbai: Agricultural credit is likely to reach to about Rs2.50 lakh crore during the 2008-09 fiscal, falling short of the targetted Rs2.80 lakh crore. As per the provisional data, credit to the farm sector has reached Rs2.13 lakh crore till February and is expected to touch Rs2.50 lakh crore during the entire 2008-09 fiscal, a senior government official said today. Asked when the data will be available, he said the figure is provisional as collecting information from all the banks take time. The government had set a target of Rs2.80 lakh crore as agriculture credit disbursal for the 2008-09 fiscal, out of which commercial banks share was Rs1.95 lakh crore while cooperative banks were projected to extend Rs55,000 crore and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) Rs30,000 crore. According to the mid-year review of the economy, farm loans worth Rs 95,064 crore have been disbursed between April and September. Commercial banks have extended agriculture credit worth Rs64,988.65 crore in the first six months of the last fiscal, while cooperative banks lent Rs19,442.33 crore. RRBs provided farm credit worth Rs10,633.18 crore in the review period. Agriculture loans increased to Rs2.44 lakh crore in 2007-08 from Rs1.80 lakh crore in 2005-06. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 10:23 am Exports, imports decline in FebruaryIndia's merchandise exports dipped 21.7 percent in February to Rs.58,685 crore ($11.91 billion), as compared to Rs.60,476 crore ($15.22 billion) in the corresponding month last year, according to government data released Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 1 Apr 2009 | 10:00 am India Jan-March coffee exports down 15 pct - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 1 Apr 2009 | 9:59 am Obama plays down G-20 splits, seeks consensusLondon: US President Barack Obama urged the world’s top economies on Wednesday to set aside their differences to tackle the global crisis, pledging that Washington would listen as well as lead. “I know that G-20 nations are appropriately pursuing their own approaches...We’re not going to agree on every point,” Obama told reporters in London on the eve of a summit to chart a path out of global recession. “I came here to put forward ideas but I also came here to listen, not to lecture. Having said that, we must not miss an opportunity to lead, to confront a crisis that knows no borders.” Obama, on his first appearance on the international stage since taking office in January, is under pressure to show that the country where the global crisis began can lead the way out. “I am absolutely confident that this meeting will reflect enormous consensus about the need to work in concert to deal with these problems,” he told a joint news conference with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Obama spoke hours after French President Nicolas Sarkozy said neither France nor Germany was satisfied with proposals currently on the table and declared that he would reject “false compromises” at the summit. Washington, which is pushing through an economic stimulus package worth $787 billion or about 5.5% of GDP for 2009-10, is pushing hard for other governments to pump in more money too. But France and Germany say they do not want this to distract from the need to regulate and rein in financial market excess. Obama said differences between the various countries had been “vastly overstated”. “The core notion that government has to take some steps to deal with a contracting global market place, and that we should be promoting growth, that’s not in dispute,” he said. The idea that some parties were pushing for greater financial regulation and others resisting such a move was also belied by the facts, he said. And there was “complete concurrence” that emerging economies needed more resources to help them weather the storm. “There’s a great desire to inject some conflict and some drama into the occasion, but the truth of the matter is I think there’s been an extraordinary convergence and I’m extremely confident the United States, as a peer of these other countries, will help to lead us through this very difficult time.” Obama said all parties had a responsibility to act with urgency and to reject protectionism. “People are losing their homes, losing their businesses...People around the world who were already desperate before the crisis may find themselves even more desperate afterwards,” he said. “Make no mistake, we are facing the most severe economic crisis since World War Two.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 9:52 am Centre allows employees to get full medical claimNew Delhi: In a move that would boost the business of health insurers, the Centre has done away with the limits imposed on the amount its employees could claim as reimbursement for their medical expenses from the government and insurance firms. A recent office memorandum by the Health and Family Welfare Ministry has done away with the monetary caps imposed by the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) for different treatments. “Beneficiaries who have subscribed to medical insurance policies in addition to availing CGHS facilities ... may be allowed to claim reimbursement from both the sources subject to the condition that the reimbursement ... should not exceed the total expenditure incurred,” the government said in a circular. Earlier, the reimbursement of employees who have subscribed to mediclaim policy from an insurance company and comes under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) were not allowed to exceed the package rates prescribed under the CGHS for the particular treatment. The government was requested by employees to remove the monetary cap as the beneficiaries had no incentive to subscribe to the mediclaim policy. In any case, they would get the amount without subscribing to mediclaim policy. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 9:45 am Weak data shows global slowdown digs deep in IndiaMUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian manufacturing activity contracted for a fifth straight month in March and exports fell in February as the global economic downturn depressed demand and the outlook remains clouded by uncertainties.Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 Apr 2009 | 9:39 am Leela Group to invest USD 500 mn in five hotels by 2012The Leela Hotels, Palaces and Resorts is planning to invest USD 500 million for opening five new properties across the country by 2012.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Apr 2009 | 9:39 am Markets claw into green in afternoon tradeIndian equities markets swung back into the green about 90 minutes before end of trade Wednesday after being in the red since the opening bell. A key index was ruling 0.86 percent higher than its previous close around this time.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 1 Apr 2009 | 9:32 am India exports slide for fifth straight monthIndia's exports fell by nearly 22 per cent in February from a year earlier, the fifth monthly contraction in a row, as overseas demand is battered by the global downturn, data showed Wednesday.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 1 Apr 2009 | 9:29 am Japan’s big makers’ confidence at worst levelTokyo: Business confidence among major Japanese manufacturers tumbled to its lowest-ever level during the three months through March from the previous quarter, but they foresee a pickup in business by June for the first time in 11 quarters, the Bank of Japan said Wednesday. The index of big makers’ sentiment came to minus 58, down from minus 24 in December, as exports slowed and industrial output declined amid the global economic deceleration, the central bank said in its closely-watched Tankan survey. The 34-point fall also represented the sharpest-ever decline in big manufacturers’ business confidence since the BOJ started the survey in 1974. For the next three months to June, business confidence index is expected to rise 7 points to minus 51. It is the first time in 11 quarters that large Japanese manufacturers have anticipated a recovery in business climate down the road. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 9:29 am Samsung partners BSNL, MTNL for 3G servicesNew Delhi: Korean electronic major Samsung today said it has partnered state-run telecos BSNL and MTNL to provide high-end handsets for their 3G services and is looking at up to 45% of its total sales being generated from multimedia and touchscreen phones. “We have partnered BSNL and MTNL to promote 3G services in India. We are currently giving a special bundling offer for BSNL consumers on our select handsets for 3G services,” Samsung India Electronics president and CEO Jung Soo Shin said here. He said, “We have also provided handsets to MTNL to offer 3G services in Delhi.” Samsung today launched an 8 mega pixel touchscreen, 3G enabled phone ‘Ultra´ priced at Rs27,500 in India. The handset is capable of offering speedy internet access, video telephony, streaming and multimedia services. “Samsung already has four touchscreen phones available in the Indian market, all of these are 3G enabled,” Shin said. “We are looking at touchscreen and multimedia phone portfolio to contribute 40-45 per cent of our total sales by the end of the year,” Samsung Telecom Division country head Sunil Dutt said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 9:25 am Samsung partners BSNL, MTNL for 3G servicesNew Delhi: Korean electronic major Samsung today said it has partnered state-run telecos BSNL and MTNL to provide high-end handsets for their 3G services and is looking at up to 45% of its total sales being generated from multimedia and touchscreen phones. “We have partnered BSNL and MTNL to promote 3G services in India. We are currently giving a special bundling offer for BSNL consumers on our select handsets for 3G services,” Samsung India Electronics president and CEO Jung Soo Shin said here. He said, “We have also provided handsets to MTNL to offer 3G services in Delhi.” Samsung today launched an 8 mega pixel touchscreen, 3G enabled phone ‘Ultra´ priced at Rs27,500 in India. The handset is capable of offering speedy internet access, video telephony, streaming and multimedia services. “Samsung already has four touchscreen phones available in the Indian market, all of these are 3G enabled,” Shin said. “We are looking at touchscreen and multimedia phone portfolio to contribute 40-45 per cent of our total sales by the end of the year,” Samsung Telecom Division country head Sunil Dutt said. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 9:25 am FEATURE - Talking in color: imaging helps social skillsSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Karrie Karahalios can show a child with Asperger's Syndrome when he's lost in a conversational riff or a taciturn spouse when he doesn't speak very much.Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 Apr 2009 | 9:18 am Hyundai Motor March sales fall 15.8%Mumbai: The Indian unit of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co., said on Wednesday its March car sales in India fell 15.8% from year earlier, as a slowing economy hit consumer spending. It sold 24,754 cars in India during the month, down from 29,401 sold last year. Exports in March rose to 21,406 units, up 21.6% from year ago, the company said in a statement. “The industry is far from seeing a turnaround at this moment,” Arvind Saxena, senior vice president for marketing and sales at Hyundai Motor India Ltd, said in a statement. Though March domestic sales were higher by nearly 17% from February, the combined sales of February and March this year rose only 4.5% from year ago, he said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 9:02 am Europe stocks weighed by banksLondon: European shares were lower in early trade on Wednesday, weighed by banks and commodities, with investors cautious ahead of a summit of G-20 leaders in London. By 2pm, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 1.1% at 725.46 points, following a 3.5% rise in the previous session. “Investors are looking at the G-20 for any commitment... like government expenditure, or more importantly, getting the banking system working properly so that there is more lending,” said Justin Urquhart Stewart, director at Seven Investment Management. “Everyone is on egg shells waiting to see what happens with G20. Everything ... is now predicated on what comes out of G-20,” he said. Banking stocks weighed heavily on the index, although stocks within the sector were mixed. Societe Generale lost 4.3% after the French bank said on Tuesday it expects additional writedowns of risky assets in the first quarter “at (a) manageable level”. Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC, Banco Santander were down 1.7-6.5%. “Banks were firmer yesterday for no obvious reason other than the fact they were retracing some of the pronounced weakness of the previous day. So banks to be down this morning is not a surprise,” said Bernard McAlinden, strategist at NCB Stockbrokers. However, Swiss bank giant UBS gained 0.7% after the group said it had appointed former Credit Suisse executive Ulrich Koerner as its new chief operating officer. Vodafone gains Energy stocks fell as crude lost 2.8%, BG Group, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total were down 2.4-3.1%. Goldman Sachs cut BP to “sell” from “neutral”. Miners were in the doldrums as copper slipped 2.2%. Anglo American lost 6.8% after the group said on Tuesday it had sent out a request for proposals to banks for a loan of about $2 billion, three banking sources close to the deal said. Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation, and Rio Tinto were 3.5-5.5% lower. Lafarge was down 4.4% after the world’s biggest cement maker launched a €1.5 billion rights issue at a subscription price of €16.65, compared with Tuesday’s closing price of €33.89. On the upside, Vodafone gained 2.3% and Telecom Italia rose 2% after Goldman Sachs raised both groups to “buy” from “neutral”. The broker also added the UK mobile operator to its “conviction buy list”. Vienna Insurance Group was 4.5% higher after the group said it plans to pay a surprise bonus dividend, as well as its regular payout, after reporting a 24% rise in 2008 profit, boosted by growing premium income in emerging Europe. In economic news, the pace of decline in euro zone factory activity eased slightly in March, buoyed by signs of stabilisation in France and Germany, but firms shed jobs at record speed, a survey showed. Later in the session, investors will look closely at U.S. Manufacturing PMI data, due today. “The main thing today is the US Manufacturing PMI, not that manufacturing is key to the U.S. economy but it has more implications for sentiment,” added NCB’s McAlinden. Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index was down 1.8%, Germany’s DAX was 1.7% lower and France’s CAC 40 slipped 1.9%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 8:37 am Japanese shares surge; Asian auto makers gainHong Kong: Japan’s Nikkei surged 3% but other Asian stocks started the quarter more cautiously as reports of an orderly bankruptcy for General Motors supported sentiment. Still, investors are worried about the broader economic impact if General Motors Corp and Chrysler, another struggling auto maker, go under after the US administration this week rejected their turnaround plans and set new conditions for a rescue. “If things are decided for US automakers relatively quickly, this will remove one bad factor for the market,” said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Shinko Securities in Japan. European shares opened around 1% lower and S&P 500 futures were down about half a percent ahead of a G-20 summit that aims to tackle the global financial crisis. The euro fell ahead of a European Central Bank meeting later on Thursday that is widely expected to agree to cut rates, leaving investors to focus on any hints it might give on whether it will look beyond interest rates to unconventional methods fight the crisis. In Asia, the MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan pared earlier gains of as much as 1.4% but was up 0.6%. It rose 14.6% in March. Japan’s Nikkei average rose 3% led by a rally in car makers such as Toyota Motor Corp that sparked a 5.3% rally in the autos subindex. Other Asia auto makers, including South Korea’s Hyundai Motor, also rose. Hyundai was up 4.7%. GM warned on Tuesday there was a rising chance it could file for bankruptcy by June, as Fiat SpA and Chrysler LLC executives met in a race to complete a tie-up the US government says Chrysler needs to survive. News agency Bloomberg reported that the Obama administration was looking at a prepackaged bankruptcy for GM, while The New York Times said the US White House was looking to ease the top US auto maker into a “controlled” bankruptcy. Some analysts have warned that the collapse of such big automakers will reverberate beyond North America given the network of global supplies chains. Data on Wednesday showed Japanese business confidence tumbled to a record low, while reports on Tuesday showed plunging US home prices and consumer confidence holding at just above record lows. Still, deep interest rate cuts by major central banks and stimulus measures are at least comforting stock markets in Asia. “The market environment has turned fairly positive. Easier monetary policy worldwide has allowed more liquidity to flow into markets,” said Kwak Joong-bo, a market analyst at Hana Daetoo Securities in Seoul. Indexes in South Korea surged 2.3% as data showing a 21.2% drop in exports in March from a year earlier offered tentative signs that the global demand slump may be bottoming out. Shares in Taiwan rose 2%, while markets in Australia and Hong Kong posted modest falls. ECB to meet Currency investors have remained cautious. US, British and Japanese central banks have turned to unconventional steps to pump funds into their economies, including outright buying of government and corporate debt. It is not clear whether the European Central Bank will follow suit, though analysts do widely expect it to cut its main interest rate by 50 basis points to a record low of 1% at its policy meeting on Thursday. The euro was down 0.4% from late New York trade the previous day to $1.3193 and shed 0.7% to ¥130.29. The dollar index, a gauge of the currency’s performance against six major currencies, rose 0.4% to 85.850, but was off an earlier high of 85.940. Among the big decliners, the New Zealand dollar fell more than 2% and its debt rallied strongly following a central bank warning on high market rates and its reiteration that it will keep benchmark interest rates low for some time. The central bank’s verbal intervention followed a sharp tightening of monetary conditions in recent weeks, reflected by rising bond yields, swap rates and a rising kiwi dollar. Gold held steady at $917.70 an ounce from its New York’s notional close of $917.15 on Tuesday. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 8:22 am Orkut, Facebook, MP3 format-- Delhi BJP to try it allNew Delhi: Don’t be surprised if the next call on your cell phone is from your area candidate or you come across a very catchy ring tone promoting BJP with the IT cell of the Delhi unit of the party coming out with a blue print to extensively use hi-technology to its advantage. Value added services on mobile phones such as SMS and e-mail campaigns, blogs, conversion of all the promotional songs into MP3 format and using social networking sites- Facebook and Orkut- are some of the methods to be used in the campaigning for Lok Sabha polls next month, according to the blue print. Convenor of IT cell Vivek Goel said “almost all the seven constituencies in the capital have substantial number of young voters and the party plans to use the high technology to best of its advantage to get them.” “The use of e-mail, webcasts, SMS, MMS, blogs and social networking sites will help us connect with the young voters and we are encouraging our candidates to use these mediums,” Goel told PTI. He said IT cell is also encouraging candidates to create their websites and blogs through which they will be able to communicate with the media as well as net-savvy citizens. The party also plans to use the interactive voice response or IVR which is a computerised phone system that enables a telephone caller to get answers to standard inquiries through automated process. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 8:12 am Wockhardt scrip nose-dives 20 percentThe stock of healthcare major Wockhardt fell 20 percent on the Bombay Stock Exchange following reports that the company would be referred to the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) mechanism for financial restructuring of its debts.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 1 Apr 2009 | 8:02 am February exports drop 21.7% from year earlierNew Delhi: India’s exports fell an annual 21.7% in February to $11.91 billion, government data showed on Wednesday, a fifth straight fall as the global slowdown slashed demand for Indian goods. The trade deficit narrowed to $4.9 billion in February from $6.1 billion in January due to a sharp fall in imports. Imports fell an annual 23.3% to $16.82 billion in February. Oil imports fell 47.5% during the month from a year earlier to $4.05 billion. Exports during April to February, the first 11 months of 2008-09, were up 7.3% at $156.6 billion from a year earlier, while the trade deficit during the period rose to $115.1 billion from $82.2 billion a year ago. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 7:53 am Antwerp's diamond industry reels from recessionThe lack of demand led to a devastating crash in the prices estimated to vary from 25 to 40 percent.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Apr 2009 | 7:45 am Nano view: Five on show in AhmedabadDifferent models of the Nano will be on display in the city from April 1 at the shops of Tata Motors dealers, and at the company's Westside and Croma outlets.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Apr 2009 | 7:22 am IMF sees world economy shrinking up to 1% in 2009Madrid: The International Monetary Fund sees the world economy contracting by between 0.5 and 1% in 2009, managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said in an interview published on Wednesday. He said a recovery could come in the first two quarters of 2010. “If ... economic policies are appropriate, the recovery should come in the first two quarters of 2010,” he told Spanish newspaper El Pais. The IMF said last month in two reports prepared for a meeting of Group of 20 nations this week that the global economy will shrink as much as 1% this year -- its first contraction since World War II. It forecast a gradual recovery in 2010. Separately, Strauss-Kahn said it was possible the European Central Bank could resort to purchasing assets with newly created money to boost the money supply. “I’m sure that, if necessary, it will not hold back, but be active against a fall in prices,” he said. With regards to Spain, Strauss-Kahn said although Spanish banks were not directly exposed to US toxic assets they had created their own. “I’m more worried about the consequences of the real estate boom on the Spanish banking system than the direct impact of US toxic assets,” he said. He said there could be problems with some Spanish banks needing government help although the system overall was healthy. Spain on Sunday launched its first bank rescue of the global financial crisis to prevent solvency problems at unlisted savings bank Caja Castilla la Mancha (CCM). Spanish banks’ capital and liquidity levels are being worn down by limited access to money markets and soaring debt defaults during Spain’s recession. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 7:22 am Sensex up 80 points in afternoon tradeWiping off early losses, the Sensex staged a comeback to trade in the positive zone, gaining over 80 points in afternoon trade.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 1 Apr 2009 | 7:07 am Computer experts brace for ‘Conficker’ wormBoston: A malicious software program that has infected millions of computers could enter a more menacing phase on Wednesday, from an outright attack to a quiet mutation that would further its spread. Computer security experts who have analyzed the Conficker worm’s code say it is designed to begin a new phase on 1 April, and while it’s unclear whether it will unleash havoc or remain dormant, its stubborn presence is rattling businesses with multimillion-dollar budgets to fight cyber crime. Conficker, believed to reside on 2 million to 12 million computers worldwide, is designed to turn an infected PC into a slave that responds to commands sent from a remote server that controls an army of slave computers known as a botnet. “It can be used to attack as well as to spy. It can destroy files, it can connect to addresses on the Internet and it can forward your e-mail,” said Gadi Evron, an expert on botnets who helps governments protect against cyber crime. But like many security experts, he doubts Wednesday will see a big attack. The virus has been powerful enough to attack infected computers for months by exploiting weaknesses in Microsoft’s Windows operating system. Evron and several other analysts said Wednesday’s change could simply give Conficker enhanced functionality, possibly making it more dangerous. “This is the electronic equivalent of being told there is a major storm that has a 20 percent chance of hitting,” said Mark Rasch, an executive at Secure IT Experts who spent 25 years prosecuting computer crimes at the U.S. Department of Justice. “It’s not time to hide in the bunker. But it might be prudent to look out the window,” he added. In February, Microsoft announced it was offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for creating Conficker, saying the worm constituted a “criminal attack.” FEARS OF ID THEFT Botnets are a major worry because they can surreptitiously steal identities, log sensitive corporate information, credit card numbers, online banking passwords or other key data users of infected PCs type on their keyboards. The information is often sold to criminal rings. “Most malware we see in this day and age is very concerned with stealing information and making money for the author,” said Dave Marcus, a researcher with security-software maker McAfee Inc’s Avert Labs. Experts said Conficker’s authors might gradually change the way it communicates to avoid attention and to prevent companies from putting in place safeguards such as those used to fight the worm since it first surfaced last year. Microsoft released a patch to protect against the worm late last year, while anti-virus software companies offer software to sniff it out and destroy it. Such tools can be expensive. Technology research firm Gartner Inc estimates businesses will spend $13.6 billion on security software this year excluding costs for related labor, services and hardware. While some consumer anti-virus software packages are available for free, others run as high as $80 each. Security experts suspect Conficker originated in the Ukraine, based on its code. The FBI is working to shut it down but a spokesman declined to comment on its investigation. “The public is once again reminded to employ strong security measures on their computers,” said Shawn Henry, assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s cybercrimes division. Independent security firms such as McAfee, Symantec Corp and Trend Micro Inc say they will closely monitor cyberspace on Wednesday to see how the worm mutates but will also watch closely over coming weeks as the hype fades. “I don’t expect much to happen on April 1st. That’s the one day I would not do it. That’s the one day everybody is watching for something to drop,” said Joe Stewart, director of malware research at SecureWorks. “It’s just another small step in whatever the end game is.” Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 7:03 am Sensex recovers early losses, ends higher by over 193 pointsThe Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex fell by over 162 points in early trade, beginning the new financial year (2009-10) on a negative note.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Apr 2009 | 6:52 am IMF sees world economy shrinking up to 1 pct in 2009MADRID (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund sees the world economy contracting by between 0.5 and 1 percent in 2009, Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said in an interview published on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 Apr 2009 | 6:49 am 300 Satyam employees join Bank of America: ReportThe first of these employees will join Bank of America between April 2 and 8, a newspaper's report said, adding they have been given salary increases of around 10% and joining bonuses.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 1 Apr 2009 | 6:36 am L and amp;T bags Rs.12.45 bn Bhutan dam projectLarsen and amp; Toubro (L and amp;T), the country's leading engineering and construction conglomerate, Wednesday said it has bagged a Rs.1,245 crore (Rs.12.45 billion) contract for the construction of dams as part of the 1,200 MW Punatsangchhu-I hydroelectric Project in Bhutan.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 1 Apr 2009 | 6:32 am Many migrant workers not going home to voteCome ballot day, many of the domestic maids, small shopkeepers and other migrant workers in the capital will be going home to vote, as they have done in the past. But this time, many others will not, thanks to the economic meltdown.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 1 Apr 2009 | 6:32 am Gold futures extend fall on strong dollarMumbai: India’s gold futures extended losses for a second day on Wednesday on a strong dollar overseas, dimming the yellow metal’s appeal as an alternative investment, analysts said. The benchmark June gold contract was 0.35% lower at Rs15,012 per 10 grams at 11:46am., after losing 0.4% in the previous session. The dollar and the yen rose on a report that the White House was prepared to let US automakers go bankrupt, but retreated from the day’s highs after a US administration official said it was inaccurate. “It will be mostly a data dependent day,” said Debjyoti Chatterjee, associate vice-president with MAPE ADMISI. US construction spending for February and US automaker sales data for March will be released on Wednesday, while US jobless claims are due out on Thursday. Technically, gold is looking positive, analysts said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 6:12 am GM, Chrysler, Fiat in talks to put off bankruptcyWashington: General Motors Corp warned on Tuesday there was a rising chance it could file for bankruptcy by June, as Fiat SpA and Chrysler LLC executives met in a race to complete a tie-up the US government says Chrysler needs to survive. GM shares tumbled 28%, its bonds fell and the cost to insure its debt rose, as the markets began to price in a bankruptcy that could wipe out stock holders and force deep losses on other creditors, even under the quick and “surgical” process described earlier by US officials. GM and Ford Motor Co, which has not sought a bailout, announced incentives to woo recession-wary customers by covering some car payments for customers who lose their jobs. US auto sales are expected to have fallen 40% in March from a year ago. Data is due on Wednesday. In Detroit, GM and Chrysler began work to implement the tough restructuring dictated by the Obama administration as a condition for providing more taxpayer funds to the struggling automakers. Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne flew to Detroit for talks with Chrysler’s labor unions and creditors after President Barack Obama gave them 30 days to set up a partnership to save the ailing US car group. Advisers to both GM and Chrysler have also been working to prepare for potential bankruptcy filings that would aim to preserve the best elements of the struggling companies while slashing debt and cutting pension and healthcare costs. Bankruptcy options One plan under discussion for GM would be to form a new company of the automaker’s best assets, while its laggard brands and money-losing assets would remain under bankruptcy protection, a person familiar with the strategy told Reuters. GM stock has lost almost half its value since Monday when Obama outlined policies sharply limiting taxpayer funds for automakers that many had expected him to rescue. Obama’s thinking on the crisis facing the automakers had not changed since Monday, a senior administration official said. He was responding to questions about a Bloomberg report that Obama had determined that a prepackaged bankruptcy was the best way for GM to restructure and become competitive, which knocked U.S. stock futures and the dollar. “This report is not accurate,” the official said. The White House wants a 60-day period for GM to reach deeper concessions with bondholders and the United Auto Workers union to play out, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. GM chief executive Fritz Henderson, installed in the job on Monday in a board shake-up, said the top US automaker would have to close more plants and shed more factory jobs than it planned just a month ago. “We need to go deeper and we need to go faster,” he told a news conference at GM’s Detroit headquarters. The US Treasury would finance a court-supervised bankruptcy for GM if the process failed to deliver enough savings. Bondholders, a key constituency in the GM restructuring, said they were braced for a reduced offer of “pennies on the dollar” for about $28 billion in GM debt. GM last week had offered bondholders about $6.5 billion in cash and new debt - equal to a combined 24 cents on the dollar - in addition to a 90% stake in the new company, a person with knowledge of the terms sheet told Reuters. The $13.4 billion emergency loan for GM approved by the Bush administration in late December had offered bondholders a payout of 33 cents on the dollar in equity, terms they rejected. Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday cut its ratings on Fiat to “junk” status and said it may cut them again, citing weak liquidity and upcoming debt maturities. Fiat investors have worried the company could end up contributing cash or debt guarantees to the Chrysler partnership at a time when its own finances are strained. Chrysler, privately held by Cerberus Capital Management, has been surviving on a $4 billion emergency loan from the US government. Fiat has agreed to contribute access to its small-car technology and vehicle platforms to Chrysler in exchange for a stake in the US automaker that would start at 20 percent. GM and Ford said they would cover some car loan payments for customers who lose their jobs, an offer aimed at consumers sidelined by the recession and worried about job security. The programs, being offered in addition to 0% financing, come at a time when US auto sales are at their lowest levels in nearly three decades. Japan’s Honda Motor Co Ltd said it would further cut production in North America as well as cutting worker pay there in response to weak demand. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 1 Apr 2009 | 5:20 am Obama to GM chief: You're firedThe Obama administration has ousted the chairman and chief executive of General Motors and is demanding Chrysler merge with another rival.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Apr 2009 | 4:57 am ‘Economic growth likely to be under 7%’Bangalore, March 31 Economic growth is likely to be under seven per cent for fiscal year 2008-09, according Dr C. Rangarajan, Rajya Sabha member and former Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. Speaking here onSource: Business Line - Home Page | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am ‘GSM players not entitled to more than 6.2 Mhz spectrum’New Delhi, March 31 The Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) on Tuesday dealt a double blow to existing GSM players. It said that GSM operators did not have the right to more than 6.2 Mhz spectrum in a circle. It also dismissed aSource: Business Line - Home Page | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am No gold imports for second month in a rowMumbai, March 31 Gold seems to have stopped glittering for Indian consumers. For the second consecutive month, not a single tonne of gold was imported in March against 21 tonnes imports during the same period a yearSource: Business Line - Home Page | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Capital account shows deficit first time in 10 yearsMumbai, March 31 India’s capital account balance turned negative, showing outflows of $3.7 billion during the October-December 2008 quarter, against net inflows of $31 billion in the corresponding quarter last year. This is the first timeSource: Business Line - Home Page | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Israel's Supreme Court to decide on Sun-Taro spatMumbai, March 31 All eyes will be on the Supreme Court of Israel, with mediation efforts between Sun Pharma and Taro Pharmaceutical coming a cropper.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Real interest rates still ruling high: CII PresidentNew Delhi, March 31 The newly elected President of the Confederation of Indian Industry, Mr Venu Srinivasan, has said that real interest rates continued to be much higher despite inflation nearing zero. He said that borrowing cost in certainSource: Business Line - Home Page | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am India’s GDP to grow by 4.3% in 2009, says OECDNew Delhi, March 31 India’s ‘long economic upswing’ has now ended and its real gross domestic product (GDP) growth, running below potential by late 2008, is projected to be 4.3 per cent inSource: Business Line - Home Page | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideWe reaffirm our prior view on DLF. Fresh short-position can be initiated if this stock declines below Rs 160, with tight stop-loss. Buy ICICI Bank and SBI in dips with tight stop-losses atSource: Business Line - Home Page | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Areva T&D India (Rs 203.20): BuyWe recommend a buy in Areva T&D India from a short-term trading perspective. It is evident from the charts of Areva T&D that it has been on an intermediate-term uptrend from its December 2008 low of Rs 130. This low is also a 52-week low forSource: Business Line - Home Page | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Sahara India takes Jet Airways to court againMumbai, March 31 Almost two years after acquiring Sahara Airlines, the Naresh Goyal-promoted Jet Airways is back in the court, after Sahara India Commercial Corporation Ltd (SICCL) moved an application in the Bombay High Court on Monday, claimingSource: Business Line - Home Page | 1 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am 'Indian money in Swiss & other banks is over Rs 70 lakh crore'It is no secret that black money has been flowing out of the country into Swiss banks and other tax havens worldwide for years now.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 31 Mar 2009 | 9:11 pm New hotel plans go up in smokeThe hospitality spread laid out for the year ahead was cooked up for the most part, or so this downturn is set to show.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 31 Mar 2009 | 9:10 pm DoT, Trai tussle set to delay unrestricted net telephonyUnrestricted Internet telephony is still some way off as the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has refused to accept the Trai's recommendation on the matter.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 31 Mar 2009 | 9:06 pm Investors lost Rs 20.5 lakh crore last financial yearUnprecedented upheavals in the financial markets in the West proved to be the nemesis of the Indian equity investor in FY09.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 31 Mar 2009 | 9:03 pm GIC pegs terror claims outgo at Rs 400 croreGeneral Insurance Corporation (GIC), which manages the Indian Terrorism Pool, expects a direct outgo of claims of almost Rs 350-400 crore owing to the Mumbai terror attacks.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 31 Mar 2009 | 8:59 pm Bharti may exit asset management businessThe company is talking to a number of banking companies to select a partner in the asset management company.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 31 Mar 2009 | 7:11 pm Sensex ends 2008-09 on positive noteDalal Street ended the financial year on a positive note as domestic institutions bought heavily and helped the BSE sensex end higher, despite selling by foreign funds.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 31 Mar 2009 | 7:07 pm Rs 24-cr block deals in IndusInd Bank scripIn three block deals in IndusInd Bank counters, over 75 lakh shares--representing about 2.1% of the bank's equity--changed hands on Tuesday.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 31 Mar 2009 | 7:04 pm Satyam employees join BofA in a groupThose working on Merrill Lynch account cross floor.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 31 Mar 2009 | 6:50 pm Reserve Bank wants to regulate NBFC holding companiesThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided in principle to bring under its regulatory ambit holding companies floated by business groups and companies that also own non-banking finance companies (NBFC).Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 31 Mar 2009 | 6:45 pm Wockhardt opts for debt revampHabil Khorakiwala installs son Murtaza as MD, to remain executive chairman.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 31 Mar 2009 | 6:43 pm India research unit focus to be on far-reaching techBangalore: Aircraft maker Boeing Co., opened on Tuesday a research and technology centre in Bangalore, only the third such outside the US. With ongoing research collaborations with the National Aerospace Laboratories, the Tata group and the Indian Institute of Science, Boeing expects this centre, which has around 30 scientists to build technologies for future planes, John Tracy, chief technology officer of the company, said in an interview. Edited excerpts:  Eco-friendly step: JohnTracy, chief technology officer of Boeing. The company wants to use fuel cells as auxiliary power units in aircraft. Hemant Mishra / Mint Here we are going to focus on far reaching technologies, that will provide us great leverage for our future products and services in areas (such) as advanced materials, advanced analysis, modelling and simulation...everything from computation fluid dynamics to advanced aluminium alloys, composite materials. And in each of those, we expect the advances that are made will help us to bring products and services to our customers that didn’t exist before. Is there a timeline for these technologies to become products? We have talked about horizons 2 and 3—these are technologies that will show up from the time to develop shows up on a product, between three and eight years. Horizon 1 could show up as soon as 12 months for us. Our focus here is the farthest out technologies. Boeing has said that the first flight of the Dreamliner will take place in the second quarter of this year. Is it on schedule? I am quite excited. I was in the factory two weeks ago, on airplane 1, 2 and 5, and the progress (that) is being made in the supply chain, in the factory is outstanding. We are picking up momentum. The airplane is going to fly in the second quarter (by June). Are you working on other new aircraft? Any new replacement for existing airplanes will be anytime (after) 2015, the last half of the decade. What you will see is that we will continue to make significant investments in the future. (With the) economic challenges now, this (India centre) is an investment in future, which we expect to pay (off) for decades. Other than the 787, all the new airplanes in the next five years will be derivatives of existing planes. You tested a fuel cell-powered aircraft last year. How long do you think before we can see commercial planes powered by fuel cell technology? That plane had hydrogen fuel cell. The first application for that is not to power a commercial airplane, (but) will be most likely (an) auxiliary power unit (APU). Right now, when you get on the plane and you hear something—not the engines, but one that keeps the electricals on—that is from the APU. That burns fuel today; we believe that will be replaced by hydrogen fuel cells and we have been studying that. It is advantageous, efficient and when it is producing power, the APU is not burning oil and not putting out carbon dioxide. The purpose (of last year’s flight) was not so much to create (fuel cell-powered) airplane, but help us to understand how you integrate systems with fuel cells; the fact that it can fly is a nice added benefit. We have solved the technical challenge but then there are certification issues and issues like how do you safely store hydrogen in an environment (where there is fuel). My guess is it will take at least five years for it (to be commercially available). Boeing has been testing biofuels for sometime. When will we see planes flying with a reasonable amount of biofuel commercially? We have tested four different fuels with four airlines, two engine companies and three different models. We are really doing a lot in alternative fuel area. The main reason is the total life cycle of carbon dioxide. Lot of the feedstock absorb carbon dioxide, but with oil you are creating carbon dioxide. You got to find fuels that don’t take up land growing for food. We are looking at other type of materials. Like what? One thing people are talking (about) more and more is algae, because it is not seasonal. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 31 Mar 2009 | 4:40 pm Intel launches high-performance chipsSam Francisco: The world’s biggest chip maker Intel rolled out a line of “revolutionary” chips on Monday designed as high-performance engines for datacenters, work stations and research computers. The Northern California company unveiled the Xeon Processor 5500 series that it says will enable customers to “tap new growth markets such as cloud computing, high-performance computing and embedded systems.” The enterprise-class chips, which were developed under a code name Nehalem-EP, save electricity by automatically adjusting energy usage levels and speed data center transactions, according to Intel. Nehalem chips are quad-core, meaning each is built with four microprocessors that act like brains, divvying up computing tasks. “Nehalem is a game changer in just about every way, especially performance,” said InState analyst Jim McGregor. “It overcomes most, if not all, the potential performance roadblocks associated with multicore configurations. It creates a foundation for future processors, and it resets performance expectations.” Cisco, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, IBM and Sun Microsystems are among more than 70 Intel partners building the new chips into machines such as those used in high-demand datacenters and science research facilities, according to Intel. “The Intel Xeon processor 5500 series is the foundation for the next decade of innovation,” said Patrick Gelsinger, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Digital Enterprise Group. “These chips showcase groundbreaking advances in performance, virtualization and workload management, which will create opportunities to solve the world’s most complex challenges and push the limits of science and technology.” Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 31 Mar 2009 | 11:26 am
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